These pumpkin pie bars are an easy and crowd-pleasing twist on traditional pumpkin pie. They include everyone’s favorite pumpkin pie filling with a buttery crust. We focused on a fun twist using gingersnaps in the crust with cozy flavors to perfectly complement the spices in the creamy pumpkin filling.
Do you love pumpkin recipes? Try this dairy-free pumpkin pie, paleo pumpkin bars, or soft pumpkin cookies next.
These pumpkin pie bars are a fun twist on a classic Thanksgiving recipe! The crust is made from crushed gingerbread and the bars are just like pumpkin pie and topped with pecans, caramel, ice cream and more!
Serve them chilled or at room temperature, making them a great make-ahead dessert for Turkey Day.
They layers of crunchy crust, creamy filling, and a whipped cream topping make them the ideal fall treat. I’ve tested and retested this recipe 4 times now, and I can finally say I’ve nailed down the BEST EVER pumpkin pie bars.
Looking for more pie? Try chocolate chip pie recipe or vegan sweet potato pie next.
Ingredients You need
Here are the simple ingredients for this pumpkin pie recipe. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Pumpkin puree: this is 100% pure pumpkin in a can (not pumpkin pie mix).
- Sugar: use both granulated sugar and brown sugar in the crust and/or filling.
- All Purpose Flour: just a bit for the crust. Use gluten-free if needed.
- Butter: this adds richness and flavor to the crust. Coconut oil works too.
- Pumpkin pie spice: keep this spice blend on hand for all your pumpkin recipes. See recipe notes to make your own with individual spices.
- Half and half: it’s a little bit lighter than heavy cream. Although you can use heavy cream or evaporated milk as a swap.
- Cornstarch: This helps thicken and set the pumpkin pie filling.
- Eggs: add structure and hold the filling together.
Do you have extra pumpkin pie spice? Use it in pumpkin pie overnight oats, gluten-free pumpkin muffins, or vegan pumpkin cheesecake bars.
Recipe Variations
Gluten-free pumpkin pie bars: we’ve tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free baking flour and it was delicious. The filling is naturally gluten-free!
Dairy-free: use vegan butter or coconut oil in the crust. Although we haven’t tried it, you could try cashew cream in the filling instead of half and half.
Shortbread crust: use any shortbread crust online instead of gingersnap, like the crust in our gluten-free lemon bars.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie Bars
Here’s how to make the best pumpkin pie bars. Jump to the recipe card for full instructions.
Crush the gingersnaps: use a food processor or high-speed blender to crush them finely. Crushing them by hand will work, but you’ll need to put in some elbow grease to get small pieces. You could swap this for graham crackers to make a graham cracker crust.
Make the crust: add the crust ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Transfer it to a parchment-lined baking pan. Use the back of a spatula to press the crust down firmly into an even layer in the bottom and along the edges of the pan. Bake for 12 minutes at 350°F.
Make the filling: whisk the filling ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until smooth and combined.
Bake: pour the filling into he baking dish and bake for another 50-55 minutes, until the center is set.
Serve: cool the bars completely before removing them from the pan and slicing them into squares.
Pro-tip for cutting pumpkin bars: Run a large, sharp knife under hot water and wipe it with a paper towel. Slice down neatly in one motion, pushing firmly to get through the crust. Rinse under water and dry it between each cut for smooth, clean lines.
How to Store
Wrap the bars tightly in plastic wrap or close in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 1 week.
To freeze, cut he bars into squares and freeze until solid on a baking sheet. Transfer to a freezer-safe bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in he fridge and serve chilled or leave them out for a few hours and store at serve them at room temperature.
Make-Ahead Tip for Thanksgiving
Make them up to one week ahead and store them in the fridge or follow the freezer directions above to make them up to 3 months in advance.
Recipe FAQs
Give the baking dish a shake at the end of baking. The center should be almost completely set, with a little jiggle. It needs more time if the center still looks wet.
Canned pumpkin, or pumpkin puree, is only the pumpkin, with nothing else. You use it for all pumpkin recipes. While canned pumpkin pie mix is pumpkin puree plus other ingredients, like sweeteners and thickeners, to make a quick pumpkin pie.
It’s harder to tell when pumpkin pie is overcooked, but an obvious sign is deep and visible crackers start to form on the top.
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Pumpkin Pie Bars
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Ingredients
Gingersnap Crust
- 10-12 ounces Gingersnap cookies (should yield approximately 2 cups crushed) (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour gluten-free if needed
- 1/2 cup (1 stick; 113g) unsalted butter melted
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 1 cup (213g) light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice storebought or homemade (Note 2)
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 1/3 cups (315ml) half and half heavy cream works too
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- Chopped pecans, homemade whipped cream (Note 3), cinnamon sugar, and/or vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to easily remove the bars from the pan.
- Add the gingersnaps to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender and pulse in 2-3 second increments until the cookies are broken down and resemble the texture of wet sand.
- Measure out 2 cups of the cookies and transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the granulated sugar, flour, and melted butter. Stir until completely combined using a rubber spatula. Transfer the crust mixture to the prepared pan. Pre-bake the crust in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.
- While it’s baking, make the filling. Add all of the pumpkin filling ingredients to a large bowl and whisk well until it’s completely combined and all of the yellow streaks from the eggs no longer remain.
- Pour the batter over the partially baked crust. Carefully transfer it back to the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the edges and middle are set. It should no longer jiggle in the center if you nudge the side of the pan. Cover the pumpkin pie bars with foil if the edges and tops are looking to brown before the center is completely baked.
- Allow the bars to cool completely then remove them from the pan and cut them into squares (Note 4). Cover the bars in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to one week. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
Equipment
- 1 9×9-inch square metal baking pan (Note 5)
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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We tried these for Thanksgiving this year, and they were delicious! Even for non-pumpkin-pie lovers! The only issue I ran into was using an 8×8-inch pan instead of 9×9. Cooking time was WAY off with the smaller pan. I will invest in a 9×9 pan for next time. Great recipe!
These were delicious! Everyone loved them at Thanksgiving this year. The crust was the game changer. 🙂 Love!
Same question that someone else asked – you listed corn starch above the recipe, but when you scroll down to the actual recipe, no cornstarch is listed. Needed?
Hey there! It will still be ok without out but I would add 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch. Sorry about that!
I didn’t see cornstarch or vanilla in the filling recipe. Is this correct?